A member of the rose family, raspberries have a wonderfully intense, sweet taste, and many…

OR 1¼kg/2lb 12oz mixed berries and currants of your choice

175g golden caster sugar

7 slices day-old white bread, from a square, medium-cut loaf

Method

Bring out the juices: Wash fruit and gently dry on kitchen paper – keep strawberries separate. Put sugar and 3 tbsp water into a large pan. Gently heat until sugar dissolves – stir a few times. Bring to a boil for 1 min, then tip in the fruit (not strawberries). Cook for 3 mins over a low heat, stirring 2-3 times. The fruit will be softened, mostly intact and surrounded by dark red juice. Put a sieve over a bowl and tip in the fruit and juice.

Prepare the bread: Line the 1.25-litre basin with cling film as this will help you to turn out the pudding. overlap two pieces in the middle of the bowl as it’s easier than trying to get one sheet to stick to all of the curves. Let the edges overhang by about 15cm. Cut the crusts off the bread. Cut 4 pieces of bread in half, a little on an angle, to give 2 lopsided rectangles per piece. Cut 2 slices into 4 triangles each and leave the final piece whole.

Build the pud: Dip the whole piece of bread into the juice for a few secs just to coat. Push this into the bottom of the basin. Now dip the wonky rectangular pieces one at a time and press around the basin’s sides so that they fit together neatly, alternately placing wide and narrow ends up. If you can’t quite fit the last piece of bread in it doesn’t matter, just trim into a triangle, dip in juice and slot in. Now spoon in the softened fruit, adding the strawberries here and there as you go.

Let flavours mingle then serve: Dip the bread triangles in juice and place on top – trim off overhang with scissors. Keep leftover juice for later. Bring cling film up and loosely seal. Put a side plate on top and weight down with cans. Chill for 6 hrs or overnight. To serve, open out cling film then put a serving plate upside-down on top and flip over. serve with leftover juice, any extra berries and cream.

Recipe Tip

Spiced apple berry pudding

Use spiced fruit loaf instead of white
bread to line the basin. Heat sugar and
water together, then gently cook 2 large
peeled cored and chopped cooking
apples for 5 mins until softened. Add
850g mixed blackberries, blackcurrants,
redcurrants and raspberries and 1⁄2 tsp
mixed spice and cook for a few mins
until the fruit softens. Build the pud and
serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Recipe Tip

Equipment

1.25-litre pudding basin, cling film, sharp knife, chopping board, large pan, large bowl, large sieve, kitchen scissors, side plate, serving plate and one or two cans for weighting down.

Recipe Tip

Apricot berry brioche pudding

For a decadent twist, add 3 tbsp crème
de cassis or framboise to the sugar in
the pan instead of water. Gently cook
about 650g halved and stoned apricots
in the syrup for 5 mins, then add about
650g mixed raspberries, blackberries
and currants and cook for a few mins
more. Line the basin with cling film as
before then layer up the fruit and juice-
soaked slices of brioche from a large loaf,
rather than lining the sides with it. Wrap
and weight down the pudding.

Recipe Tip

Berries over cooked or white patches?

The best thing to do is add more berries, strawberries are best. If your bread is patchy, take the spare juice and spoon it over - people will never know.

Recipe Tip

The sugar in the pan won’t dissolve?

It takes a lot longer than you might think
to dissolve caster sugar. Be patient and
keep the heat low. It’s ready when there’s
no grittiness at the bottom when you stir.

Ads by Google

Comments, questions and tips

A good summer pudding recipe although my pudding was 60% strawberries so I added them to the pan for a couple of minutes or the pudding would have been too hard and I wouldn't have had enough juice.
There is a mistake in the recipe when they talk about lining the bowl with bread. The whole point of cutting the bread slices in to asymmetric rectangles is to place narrower ends near the bottom or the bowl and wider ends near the top where the bowl is wider. If you alternate which way up you put them it was pointless cutting them in the first place.
It is much better than the Delia recipe I've used the last few times though because of the clinfilm, dipping the bread in the juice and the instructions on how to make the bread fit the bowl.

sbb_milla

18th Aug, 2013

5.05

Really yummy! I used one pack of strawberries (400g) and one pack of frozen summer fruits (rasberries, blackberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants) (550g) which I defrosted a little in the microwave. This seemed to be just the right amount for my bowl. All the tartness from the fruit was gone and everyone was very impressed. Will definitely do again!

fenellabramwell

21st Jul, 2013

Tried this recipe and am now a Summer Pudding convert! It was absolutely delicious. I used two bags of frozen berries instead of fresh, and because I didn't have a pudding dish, I used a small cake loaf tin. So pleased with the result, and it looked attractive too.

montidog

9th Jun, 2013

5.05

Best summer pudding I have ever made. Worked very well by dipping bread in juice and lining bowl with cling film. Used frozen strawberries, blackberries and red currants left from last year.

mimbert

22nd Sep, 2012

Make it for my parents, absolutely a keeper, it's lovely and fresh and really easy! :)

beccyjane

9th Sep, 2012

5.05

Fantastic recipe, easy and quick to make. I choose a frozen pack of fruits of the forest, just cooked the fruit a bit long. It tasted just as good, served with ice cream and I made a coulis with what was left of the fruit. Perfect...

Bungly

28th Aug, 2012

5.05

Brilliant! Just made this for the second time. Lining the basin with cling film is genius. Last time made it with wholemeal bread and it was lovely. This time used white. Very good for dieters.

mowcop

21st Aug, 2012

Is it possible to freeze this recipe - possibly making it in 6 small
individual basins.

attie12

27th Jul, 2012

Instead of bread try making it with slices of maderia cake and no need to add water just sugar and fruit, it's lovely, even better served with thick fresh cream!!

attie12

27th Jul, 2012

For a variation, instead of using bread use maderia cake, it's lovely!! Especially served with thick fresh cream

Pages

I'm finding the bit about building the bread slices difficult to understand. First it says overlap two slices in the middle of the bowl, then it says put another piece covered with juice on the bottom. I had assumed the first two pieces would have to go on the bottom as the law of gravity doesn't allow them to suspend in the middle! Obviously, as most people say how easy it is to follow, I must be getting the wrong end of the stick somehow, but my husband couldn't understand it either. Sorry if I'm appearing not very clever about this, but can anyone help me?

taysidefrog

24th Jul, 2016

I found this confusing and then realised that although the paragraph starts "prepare the bread" they are actually talking about the clingfilm when they mention overlapping pieces. They should have omitted "prepare the bread"

Be the first to suggest a tip for this recipe...Got your own twist on this recipe? Or do you have suggestions for possible swaps and additions? We’d love to hear your ideas.

Reader offer: £10 off + 2 free craft beers

Skills & know how

As well as helping you decide what to cook we can also help you to cook it. From tips on cookery techniques to facts and information about health and nutrition, we’ve a wealth of foodie know how for you to explore.

About BBC Good Food

We’re all about good recipes, and about quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy. Whether you’re looking for some healthy inspiration or learning how to cook a decadent dessert, we’ve trustworthy guidance for all your foodie needs.

Our recipes

All our recipes are tested thoroughly by us to make sure they’re suitable for your kitchen at home. We know many of you are concerned about healthy eating, so we send them to a qualified nutritionist for thorough analysis too.

This website is made by BBC Worldwide.

BBC Worldwide is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC (and just the BBC). No money from the licence fee was used to create this page. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes.